WATERVILLE — Oona Mackinnon-Hoban was researching scholarship opportunities to pay for college when she stumbled upon a contest offered by the American Legion of Maine. The High School Oratorical Scholarship Competition is a contest that challenges students to deliver both a prepared and extemporaneous speech on the topic of the U.S. Constitution.

The 16-year-old sophomore at Portland High School said she never had participated in an oratory contest before Saturday and was surprised to win the statewide competition held at Thomas College.

“I’m very surprised and excited that it was me,” said Mackinnon-Hoban, who will advance to the national High School Oratorical Scholarship Competition sponsored by the American Legion in Indianapolis in April.

She was one of seven students who participated in the state competition after advancing from district competitions across the state. There are 19 American Legion districts in Maine, but only seven sent participants to the state competition, said Patrick Eisenhart, a commander for the American Legion’s District 9 and the organization’s spokesman at the event.

In the Portland district, Mackinnon-Hoban was uncontested and said she wasn’t sure what to expect at the state competition; but she also said that past experiences as an actress helped prepare her for the contest. “I’m already interested in American history, so that also helped me to prepare,” she said.

The contest consists of delivering two speeches, the first of which students are asked to prepare in advance on a topic related to the basic principals of government under the U.S. Constitution. The students are given five topics and asked to prepare all five speeches, though they only deliver one.

Advertisement

For the second address, students are given a topic related to the Constitution to explore, with just five minutes or preparation time allotted. A panel of five judges evaluated the students based on the content of their speeches, including originality and ability to cite examples and their speaking skills, including poise, body language and diction.

“I really have learned a lot,” said Amanda Hays, of Winthrop, a student at Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield who finished second in Saturday’s competition. “I think it’s a wonderful program and I learned a lot just preparing the speeches.”

“A lot of people don’t know all the things the American Legion does,” Eisenhart said. “The reason we do this is so kids can understand the Constitution and their rights as citizens.”

All of the students who participated in the competition on Saturday received a monetary award. As the state winner, Mackinnon-Hoban received a $1,500 scholarship and will compete for a top prize of $18,000 in scholarship money at the national competition.

“There was a lot of general research that I put into it, especially writing the prepared speeches, but I was already studying the Constitution in my history class,” she said. “It’s a topic I am interested in, so it didn’t seem like too much work.”

Rachel Ohm — 612-2368

rohm@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @rachel_ohm


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.